How to get out of the driveway before Monday

[jeremyjudd]

I live in Salisbury, North Carolina. It snows here maybe twice a year. Well, this morning it snowed.

So the wife and I head out to my '94 Ranger to go take a ride around town.

We roll in the manual hubs (yup, already had the automatic ones replaced) I punch the 4x4 button and nothing happens. No clicking, no noise. Nothing.

I test the box behind the jump seat in the super cab per Ranger Station instructions by pushing the white button down and get a red flashing light. So this piece appears to be working.

As luck would have it, my volt meter has a popped fuse that I have no way of replacing as the Ranger cannot drive out of the driveway at the moment so my testing sort of ends there.

Best guess is the switch has gone bad. I have noticed having to push it a few times to get the light to come on in the past few weeks (yes, I know, that was the time to fix it not now).

But, here's the deal. I can't drive out of the driveway to get parts for my truck or a fuse for my voltmeter.

So, a switch is just that right? It either engages or engages different wires together which in turn puts the 4x4 in gear.

So, does anyone know what wires I can temporarily wire together to get the 4x4 to work so I can get our of my driveway?


http://www.salisburypost.com/images/ctobox/dsc_0301.jpg

 

[Capt Jay]

First you take your shovel. You apply the shovel to the snow, remove the snow from behind the truck. Now you drive the truck to the parts store. lol
(sorry, couldn't resist)

 

[jeremyjudd]

I forgot to mention that my driveway is a half mile long. It's a private drive, so not plowed.

If you'd like, you may come practice the technique you mentioned all the way to the paved road. I however, would like some advice on how to rig my 4x4 switch, which is why I created the post.

 

[Doom's Day Custom]

Well don't you have any friends that you could call to help you out?????

 

[jeremyjudd]

You know, a year ago I spent practically a month on these forums every day working out issues with my Ranger. The people were so helpful I was able to learn to how to replace the gears in my Ranger with 4.10, trouble shoot a check engine light problem and perform various other maintenance on my own.

Today, I ask a mechanical question and immediately get one sarcastic remark about using a shovel to solve my problem followed by another poster who wants to know if I have any friends.

I wanted advice on a possible electrical problem for my Ranger.

Please, if you cannot give any suggestions or advice pertaining to the electrical problem, don't post on the thread. It's common courtesy.

 

[7.5L_STX]

idk about the wiring but if you cant figure it out, i have a switch ill sell for 10$ +shipping

 

[4x4junkie]

According to the diagram I have for mine, connecting circuit 465 (white w/L Blue stripe) to 780 (D Blue) should engage 4WD Hi (the momentary switches have normally-open contacts).

The 4WD not engaging could very well be the switch, but it could also be the shift motor on the T-case too.
If the switches don't pan out, check that the little plastic bushing around the stop screw on the main gear inside the motor isn't broken or missing. In this case I think what happens is the motor overshoots 2WD causing the sensor contacts to become misaligned, which then results in the system shutting down and becoming unresponsive (this seemed to be the case on my BII at one point before I said screw it and swapped my manual case in).

 

[jeremyjudd]

4x4 Junkie - you were right about it being the shift motor. I was able to read up on it on this thread in an explorer forum: http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=202166 which had some detailed photos and instructions. One of there first suggestions was just to tap on the motor gently to see if maybe something is just hung up. Tapping on the motor with a hammer caused everything to start working again. Not a long-term solution, but it gets me back on the road again for now.
When the weather warms I'll pull it apart and clean it up.

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction!

7.5 SLTX - if the switch goes, I know where to find a cheaper replacement. I looked up the cost online and found out they are about $250 new. Ouch!

 

[john112deere]

I have a vague recollection of reading somewhere about being able to crawl under the truck and manually engage 4x4 by turning something on the t-case.

Don't know any details, and I'm not even sure I didn't make the whole thing up, but can anyone shed any light on this?

 

[Foxracin]

You can pull the shift motor off and there is a little shaft behind it that you can put a pair of vice grips on and turn it to put it in 4wd. Thats the only way.

 

[88_Eddie]

try cleaning out all the connectors going from the shift motor to the t-case. also, spray some sort of lubricant up in the shift motor. its been damn cold out so the shift motor could have trouble shifting in the cold. try to warm it up somehow and then tryin puttin it in 4x4.

btw, i went out to my B2 this afternoon to go to the store and as i pull out of the drive, a u-joint in my front driveshaft blows up. seems like shit only breaks when it comes time to use it.

 

[Jspafford]

You can pull the shift motor off and there is a little shaft behind it that you can put a pair of vice grips on and turn it to put it in 4wd. Thats the only way.

Ditto... This is what you need to do if you want it to work without screwing with switches and crap.

Fix it once the snow melts.

 

[feellnfroggy]

Its funny, you get irritated by the first response you got, however When I got hear 2 yrs ago everyone was very helpful as well. For the most part they still are but after a year I learned to search the tech library first prior to posting my questions. I normally find 95% of my answers in there. (it also prevents unwanted stupid comments) The tapping with a hammer thing wasnt in there, however the writeup on cleaning the shift motor was. had you taken the 20 minutes to clean the shift motor instead of waiting for all our answers you would have seen that the motor was mildly frozen or dirty. You would have been out of your half mile long driveway in 45 minutes instead of 2 hrs or more..... just my two cents.

 

[Jspafford]

Its funny, you get irritated by the first response you got, however When I got hear 2 yrs ago everyone was very helpful as well. For the most part they still are but after a year I learned to search the tech library first prior to posting my questions. I normally find 95% of my answers in there. (it also prevents unwanted stupid comments) The tapping with a hammer thing wasnt in there, however the writeup on cleaning the shift motor was. had you taken the 20 minutes to clean the shift motor instead of waiting for all our answers you would have seen that the motor was mildly frozen or dirty. You would have been out of your half mile long driveway in 45 minutes instead of 2 hrs or more..... just my two cents.

Most of the people who join have a single problem and don't feel like searching for the answer...they want it RIGHT NOW. I understand this..your panicking, you want answers fast. However, most of these issues, this one for sure, has been beat to death at least 3 or 4 times a week.

Once you've been here for a few years answering the same questions over and over, it wears on you a little bit.

With that said, never be afraid to ask a question, but always remember you may not always like all the responses you receive.

 

[Spitfire1975]

any place in the tech pages that will tell me how to post again without threadjacking???